Zion - Light of the New Moon: The Grand History
Zion - Path of the Moon Mother World Information, Part 8 The Grand History of the Land copyright 2011 comidacomida
-The Time of the Titans- Far before the beginning of the world as we know it, the three great Titans of Land, Sky, and Sea struggled for supremacy. The young world was chaotic back then, without order or purpose. Land struck upward toward Sky, shifting massive columns high into the air in an attempt to break the ever-shifting stalemate. To respond, Sky would launch powerful strikes down at Land, carving huge grooves into the ground, pushing downward further and further, digging enormous gullies and canyons.
To make up for lost control, Land would strike out against Sea as well, raising enormous islands out of the primal oceans, pushing the surging surf back with long stretches of beach. Sea would not stand for this, of course, and fought back by invading Land's realm with lakes and rivers. Invariably, Sky would see this as a chance to launch a surprise attack at Sea, churning the surf and creating vast disturbances in the near-perfect oceans... but Sea would not be content to let Sky's impudence go unpunished, and invaded Sky with clouds, mist, and rain.
During this tumultuous age nothing was static and everything could change as easily as it might stay the same; creation itself was at its greatest, most frenzied pace. It was due to this ever-developing aspect of creation, however, that the age of the Titans came to an end... and that end had so great a cost that the Titans were all but destroyed in the process. Survival took its toll and required the greatest sacrifice the Titans had ever been made to pay: they were forced to accept limitations.
Creation gave all three Titans a single, irrefutable, physical form, which was a strange concept to beings that used to be anything and everything. They were each attributed a body and, with that limitation, a center to acknowledge their 'self'. Without being able to be everywhere at once, each Titan was required to be somewhere... and only there.
No longer omniscient or omnipotent, the three Titans quickly realized that one false step would mean their final end, and they retreated from their squabbles, preferring instead the safety of isolation. The Titans, however, were never meant to exist on their own and, after a time so vast that it could not be counted by mere mortals, they each began to grow lonely... and thus contact was reestablished in a most peculiar way.
The Titans had grown used to being in their bodies, but they still did not fully understand what having a form meant. Once they were exposed to the forms of their fellow Titans they began to experience their limited senses with all of the curiosity and creativity of a young child. Titans had always been beings of immense power, but in their limited forms that power was greatly reduced. When more than one Titan combined, however, that power grew anew. Far different than what a mortal would acknowledge as an intimate union, the Titans, nonetheless, gave birth to a child... the first God.
-The Time of the Gods- The Titan's child was Tah'enar, who was birthed by Land. He was a God and, as their child, became a point of unification of the Titans. Tah'enar was the greatest thing the Titans had ever accomplished together and they bestowed upon him all the gifts they could think of. Like the Titans, Tah'enar was given immortality and incredible power-- the combined might of the Titans made Tah'enar more powerful than his three parents. Due in part to their lack of omniscience, however, the Titans did not realize this until it had already happened.
Tah'enar was a goodly God and meant no ill will toward his parents, but the Titans still feared that there was now a being in the world that was more powerful than they. In an attempt to better balance the world, they elected to conceive another child, and, in a frenzy, began the act anew, joining with one another to bring forth new life... and so they did. Whether a result of their frenzied need for new offspring or due to their reckless union of power in their newest attempt, the Titans orchistrated their own undoing-- too much energy invested in the act, all three Titans simultaneously expired... but not before birthing twins-- two goddesses: Tah'aveen, and Tah'alia.
Tah'aveen, having been born by Sea, emerged from the oceans, beautiful and magnificent. Sky gave birth to Tah'alia, who descended from up high with the grace and elegance of a falling feather. The twins were alike in so many ways... yet they were also so very different. Having emerged before Tah'alia, Tah'aveen was the older sister, which made Tah'alia the youngest of the three... something that would not take long for her to resent... and a great sibling rivalry was soon created.
During the time between his birth and the birth of his sisters, Tah'enar had begun pursuing his own interests, and explored as much of creation as he was able. Not content to simply see what had been made, Tah'enar took it upon himself to continue creating. Without knowing exactly how to proceed, the God made his first goal to manifest a basic building block from which everything else might arise... and, to that end, Tah'enar created the first element: Earth. After the Titans perished, Tah'enar dedicated the element to the memory of his parents. His sisters, seeing truth in his wisdom, decided to follow suit.
To honor the Titans, Tah'aveen drew forth a handful of Sea and, as it flowed through her fingers, she blew softly upon it, giving it form... substance... essence. From the remnants of Sea itself, Tah'aveen gave existence to Water. Seeing the many things that her brother was already doing with Earth, the young goddess began to contemplate the ways she could build with Water but, to her amusement, Water was not so easily shaped. Tah'aveen, though young for a Goddess, was still incredibly wise, and borrowed from Tah'enar's element its stalwart nature, and crafted from Water the first primordial ice.
This ice, Tah'aveen shaped into a perfect disc. Masterfully crafted by her breath alone, this disc was imbued with great power, shining with a pure light of silvery-blue and onto it she breathed the entire story of creation, detailing in the language of the Gods all that had happened so that creation would know of the Titans. From there, Tah'aveen threw the disk high into Sky so that it would hang there forever more, glowing against the blackness of Sky as a testiment to her parents.
Tah'alia, though well-meaning, was careless in hear eagerness to not be outdone. She tried again and again to provide a creation that would rival that of her sister and be the ultimate compliment to that of her brother. The young Goddess wanted to honor her parents in a way that would far outshine anything that had ever been done... but she didn't know where to begin. As she sat alone within the darkness of the world, resting atop Earth and hearing the sounds of Water crest upon the shores, Tah'alia let forth a sigh. That single breath became her inspiration and, using her immense powers, the Goddess brought forth Air.
Tah'alia reveled in the beauty of her creation... that which could pass by without being seen, felt and heard but always invisible-- to her, it was the ultimate way to honor her creators which, she compared poetically to the wind in that they would always be felt, even if they could not be seen. Despite her happiness at what she accomplished, she could not overcome the thought that her siblings were unable to appreciate the subtlety of her great gift and, in that moment of helplessness and bitterness, Tah'alia's heart grew warm... hot... burning... and her next breath created what was to become known as Fire.
-Divine Conflict- The other Gods did not know what to think of this newest Element. Tah'alia, however, saw what would become her crowning achievement. Cupping the burning embers of her frustration in her hands, the young Goddess blew on them more and more and more until an immense ball of fire had grown within her palms. Caressing it and stroking it, Tah'alia shaped it into a perfect sphere and, as its light grew greater and greater, the Goddess threw the Fire high into the sky to stand a stark contrast to Tah'aveen's silver disc. This, needless to say, did not please the elder Goddess.
Far outshined by the ball of fire, Tah'aveen's silver disc began to melt, dripping sparkling spots into the ephemeral essence of Sky. As the Fire continued to blaze, the blackness of the world was quickly burned away and Sky began to take on the color of the water that filled it. Mimicing the squabbles of their parents ages before, Tah'aveen and Tah'alia began to argue about the place for their creation within the heavens... and that is when Tah'enar stepped in to settle the dispute.
Taking hold of the tapestry of the heavens, Tah'enar showed Tah'aveen that her gift to the Titans would melt clean away if she would not compromise. Tah'enar then showed Tah'alia that her gift would be quenched and doused within the water of Tah'aveen's melted gift if she could not come to an arrangement. To placate both of his sisters, Tah'enar offered that each of the sisters' gifts would be able to hide within the folds of the Earth, allowing them to take turns in presenting their works of art. From that time on, Tah'enar became the great arbitrator... the calming factor between the warring sisters. His wisdom and kindness also earned him their love and devotion, striking yet another chord of dissension between the two Goddesses.
Tah'aveen's love for Tah'enar grew more as the ages passed and, in time, he acknowledged it as well. Just as their parents before them had done, Tah'aveen and Tah'enar brought forth more life from their union. Life, true life, came to the lands as the spark of creation born of Tah'aveen and Tah'enar exploded with pure and uninhibited possibility. Plants and animals filled the emptiness with scents and sounds that had never existed and the new parents were joyful at what they had created... but it also caused Tah'alia's bitterness to grow... and a plan formed in her mind, for she could not abide her sister having all of Tah'enar's love to herself.
While Tah'aveen was distracted, focused on the new life upon the world, Tah'alia presented herself to Tah'enar, claiming to be her sister. Lies were not known at that time and Tah'enar had no reason to disbelieve her. At her behest, he gladly lay with her, thinking that she was Tah'aveen... and, in time, Tah'alia give birth; her children were the first Elves. It did not take long before what had transpired became known... and the resulting squabble between the gods was unrelenting and unmitigated-- it very nearly tore the world asunder.
The world had been a paradise for Tah'alia's elves; it was caring and kind, gentle and welcoming... but that was not to last. When before there had only been peace and coexistence upon the animals that lived upon the world, Tah'aveen decreed that some would seek the meat of others, creating the first predators. She gave these creatures the need to feast upon the flesh of other creatures. The elves, beings of grace and beauty but without immense strength, natural weapons or protective hide, quickly became the favored prey.
In retaliation, Tah'alia could think of no greater a way to hurt her sister than to attack her precious silvery disc, the Moon. Drawing upon the connection to Tah'enar that was forged in their union, Tah'alia stole away deep into Earth, seeking the Celestial Channel. The hidden tunnel was a mystical pathway through which the Moon and Sun would travel beneath the world after setting in the west and before rising in the east. There, Tah'alia waited for her grand creation the Sun to pass. As it did, the Goddess merged herself with the flames and immolated the path with ever-burning fire.
It was a horrific thing to see the once-grand silvery disc emerge the next day, no longer a perfect circle. At first, Tah'aveen was at a loss for what had happened but, as each night passed, more and more of the Moon was melted away by the ever-burning fireball created by her scorned sister deep within the Celestial Channel. A week passed this way, then a fortnight... and then, after almost four weeks, the Moon was completely gone. Only once the moon was completely destroyed did Tah'alia confess to the deed but, by then, it was done and there would be no recovery... or so the younger goddess had thought.
Beseeching her brother for aid, Tah'aveen told him of their sister's deed, whereupon Tah'enar, sickened by the squabble, took it upon himself to act as the arbitrator once again. For nearly their entire lives the two sisters had constantly vied for everything from ownership of the heavens to ownership of his affections. Despite his love for Tah'aveen, Tah'enar realized that he could not afford to play favorites, and, thusly, he punished both of his sisters.
As they accepted his word as the final decision, he decreed that Tah'alia's trickery would be punished. Though she sought to destroy, her act would instead create. The god drew forth the droplets of silvery water that had been the moon and he threw them high into the firmament, creating the stars, which would ever and always gleam like drops of dew against the inky blackness. Secondly, the God of Earth drew forth from Tah'aveen's essence the power to create a fresh Moon and placed it within the heavens once again.
To mitigate his judgment in favor of the elder sister, Tah'enar, to placate Tah'alia's jealousy, decreed that the blistering fire, having been doused by the melting moon, would be reignited. There, the Deep Flame would remain for all time. To continue its existence, Tah'enar drew forth from Tah'alia's essence, guaranteeing that the flame deep within the earth would be renewed if ever it were extinguished.
So it was that, as the ages went by, the Deep Flame would slowly burn away the moon until nothing was left, and then, was doomed to be quenched by the waters thus created. The Moon would slowly grow once more without the heat of the fires to prevent its resurrection. The Deep Flame, however, would flicker brighter with each passing day until it grew powerful enough to once more melt the Moon. And so the heavens were caught in an unceasing dance of creation and destruction... but that was not the end of the sisters' struggles.
-The New People- The uneasy peace between the sisters lasted for numerous centuries but, as would be expected, the ever-shifting balance of power between the deities meant that the time would again come when something arose to drive a wedge between the divine family. After the introduction of Elves to the world and creation of predators, the Gods had planned to never again make such a large change to the world. They agreed that no new race would walk upon the world due to the union between God and Goddess. This newest peace, of course, did not last forever.
Tah'enar and Tah'aveen, through virtue and vice of their relationship, were unable to halt the power of creation, and it was not long before Tah'aveen was again ready to bring forth a new addition to the world. Mindful of the agreement that had been made between them, Tah'enar interceded and instead of letting Tah'aveen set their new children upon the world, took them from the mother Goddess and sequestered them far away in the depths of subterranean caverns.
It was not long before Tah'alia discovered the existence of these new children, the Dwarves. In a fury, the goddess reproached her siblings and demanded an accounting of their actions. Tah'enar calmly explained that the Dwarves were no breech in their sacred agreement; they did not walk upon the world--- they walked beneath it. Tah'alia's wrath was not placated upon learning that her siblings circumvented their promise... and so she vowed to seek justice. Just as Tah'enar and Tah'aveen had adhered to the letter and not the purpose of their agreement, so to would she.
Willing to sacrifice to make her lesson to her brother and sister stick, Tah'alia took a portion of her essence and used it to shape a new kind of being to loose upon the world. Having been created directly from the essence of a Goddess, these beings were nearly immortal. They were capable of living forever unless their unnaturally infinite lifespan were cut short due to violence... something that these beings, born of anger, jealousy, and spite knew enough of to keep their numbers limited. Still, these creatures quickly ran rampant, spreading fear and pain wherever they went. These offspring of Tah'alia were the first Demons.
Although Tah'alia was first overjoyed with the punishment she rendered upon her brother and sister it did not take long for her anger to pass and she looked upon the world, realizing that everything that the Demons encountered was destroyed or, worse, defiled. After watching numerous villages of her elven children layed waste before the demonic armies she came to understand how horrible a mistake she had made. Swalloing her pride, the Goddess called for her brother and sister. Although angry with Tah'alia, both realized that anger is what created the problem in the first place, and willingly set aside their displeasure for the sake of their world.
For the first time in ages, the three worked together. Combining their power, the three sequestered away the incredible mistake, sealing the demons in a dimensional prison. While the banishment would not be a permanent one, it would give them the time they needed to create a more lasting solution. The solution came from the mind of Tah'enar... and it was much more far-reaching than either of his sisters would have realized at the time. Without seeking approval or permission from his siblings, Tah'enar began crafting his answer to more problems than just the demons.
As the eldest of the Gods, Tah'enar realized that the responsibility for the safety of the world lay on his shoulders. After so many ages of being in the middle of his sisters' infighting he finally began to realize that the rivalry between them was for more than the sake of arguments-- they saw him as a resource to fight over... a trophy to be won. The demons would be able to be sealed away forever, but the amount of power required for such a feat could just as easily destroy the deity channeling it.
Tah'enar knew that if the world were to survive that the demons must be prevented from ravaging it... and if the world were ever to know peace, the sisters would have to find a way to coexist. Knowing this, Tah'enar willingly used his essence to create the eternal boundary between the mortal realm and the land of demons. Only in the last stages of the ritual did the sisters understand what their brother was doing. Together, they sought to convince him otherwise and to plead for him to find another way. With the final moments of their time together, Tah'enar would simply say that he loved both of his sisters and that he only ever wanted them to be happy.. and that he hoped and wished that they would find that happiness... then he was gone.
In grief, the two Goddesses parted, unwilling and unable to be in one another's company. They each took a different path, attempting to find solace in what remnants of their brother's essence they could find. They each cultivated the world, seeking to improve Tah'enar's legacy through the betterment of the people. Tah'aveen no longer sought to harm anything of Tah'alia's creation, focusing instead on creating a balance in nature while Tah'alia continued to nurture the elves as her children and encouraged the growth of the wild spaces. The two sisters, though still not capable of working together, gave one another space and each worked separately to make certain that their brother's legacy would be a great one.
-The Empire of the Moon- As the ages passed, the world changed greatly and different societies took shape. Grand order began to stretch across the lands as more and more different kinds of peoples sprouted up, seemingly at random with great spontaneity. Both sisters took this as a sign that the eternal power of their brother was still present, even if he was not. They each began to cultivate portions of the world, choosing those that best reminded them of their brother. Tah'alia strove to decorate the Earth with life, paying homage to her brother's desire to create and imbue.
Tah'aveen, however, watched as the numerous varied people of the world began to exercise their own creativity and advanced themselves beyond merely the place in creation they began. They altered the world around themselves to meet their needs. Villages... towns... even small cities began to grow. She saw in their existence a willingness to change that which did not suit them... to make what they were given better and build off of what came before them. In this, she felt a strong connection to her absent brother and vowed to protect and care for them as if they were of her own essence.
Her sister all but forgotten, the Great Moon Goddess Tah'aveen began to guide the newly developing world so that all of her children might live in prosperity and happiness. Though none of the mortals would ever truly be able to comprehend all that she was, the Goddess found small ways to show them that a being presiding over their lives cared for and loved them. A select few were even able to perceive her greater than most, and these chosen few became her prophets. They could not understand her near limitless nature, and so, at any one time, she was required to show only a fraction of herself, and thus these portions of her essence is how she came to be known.
The De'aveen clan was created at this time as well. The family was said to have originated when a favored disciple of the Goddess was near death after a horrible accident. In his final moments he wished for nothing more than to leave the world while looking upon the visage of the Goddess to whom he had devoted his life. Rather than letting the true-hearted man die, Tah'aveen instead intervened and. She presented herself in mortal form before her follower and restored his health, renewing his life, and revitalizing him with divine energy.
Although her time in the mortal realm was short, Tah'aveen saw something within the mortal man that stirred feelings deep within her. Some say it was a spark of her long-lost brother while others say that she was drawn to the pure, unfiltered devotion with which he had lived his entire life for her and her alone. Whatever the reason, Tah'aveen shared the man's bed and, though she was gone when the moon disappeared, the man was left with twins-- a boy and a girl, already toddlers when he awoke. The man, having been no one of great significance, had no clan name, thus he gave unto his children the name De'aveen, in honor of their mother.
Tah'aveen was worshiped as much as a cycle of change as she was a singular entity. Like the moon, she had many faces, but all were revered and sought out in their own way. A vast empire flourished under her watchful, ever-changing gaze and six great holy cities rose up. Five of the six were each in service to one of her phases. Within the very center of the grand civilization, built upon the foundation of the town where the De'aveen family called home, there arose a sixth city, far greater than the rest: the city of Zion. These great six cities formed the backbone of the spread of her people across the world, the lands of which known as the Empire of the Moon.
It was a golden time for the world in which beings of all kinds knew the love of the Goddess. It was also during this time that Tah'aveen finally gazed out across the world to her sister who had likewise nurtured her own people, the elves. Under her focus, the elven lands grew powerful and pure, gleaming with life and strumming with divine energy. Creatures of beauty and unequaled magnificence thrived. From across their self-imposed divide, the two Goddesses looked at what the other had accomplished and, for once, there was no jealousy... only a strong, mutual love over what the other had accomplished in the name of their brother.
The sisters came together with great joy, reuniting in a way as only long-distant sisters could, with tears and embraces and words of love and promises of unity. The world bloomed in response to their happiness and the natural bounty became riches beyond measure. The Empire of the Moon, under guidance from their Goddess, reached out to the sun worshiping Elves and, though their ways were very different, the two nations embraced one another, much like the Goddesses themselves. The incredible accomplishments and advancements of the Empire of the Moon met the immense arcane knowledge and natural insight of the elven people, and both peoples benefited from the alliance.
It was also during this time that the long-hidden dwarves rose from the places deep beneath the Earth, called for by the Goddesses who wished to reveal the long-banished children to the rest of their people. The dwarves, having long been restricted to the world beneath had grown stoic and reserved but, given the Goddess' patience and many generations, they finally began to acknowledge themselves as the Goddess' children. Accepted by the Empire of the Moon and welcomed among the elven people, the Dwarves emerged from the subterranean realms and took their place as children of the Gods. The Golden Age remained for nearly 1500 years but, as with everything that had come before, it fell to infighting, jealousy, and distrust... but this time, it was not the Goddesses at fault.
-The Sundering of An Empire-
While each of the five great holy cities worshiped a specific aspect of Tah'aveen, only the city of Zion accepted all of her many faces and acknowledged that no one piece of the Moon Goddess was greater than any other. The clergy of Zion worked endlessly to keep the holy cities united in common purpose but, after many centuries, even the great city of Zion lost its grip on a rapidly deteriorating piece and, all at once, the empire came to a swift and violent sundering.
While there was no one specific event that led to the downfall of peace between the great cities, the final blow to the empire that led to the declaration of war has long been agreed upon by historians. Known as the Dehamin Massacre, the event marked the bloodiest slaughter to ever stain the streets of Zion. Although the exact details remain disputed, what is known for certain about the Dehamin Massacre is that nearly two dozen delegates from the port city of Dehamin were brutally murdered, and there was enough suspicion to indicate that one of the five temple cities was involved.
Worse yet, rumors were common at the time that suggested the ruling council of Zion knew it was going to happen, and yet did nothing to stop it. Chaos ruled the Embassy District of Zion for three days straight. Guards were called in to keep order, only to later be recalled to the edge of the district to keep the rapidly escalating riots from spilling over to the rest of the city. With so many in doubt as to the purity of Zion's intentions, representatives, traders, envoys, delegates, and priests of the other great cities were quickly recalled and, for the first time in centuries, Zion was no longer the center of the Empire... in fact, by that time, there no longer WAS an empire.
Each of the five great cities became the center of their own nation. They warred with one another over the varying smaller towns and villages, all but destroying most of them in the process. People who had never even set foot in the Temple Cities were called to fight at the behest of the clergy, acting as proxy soldiers in a war that was fought by the different factions of Tah'aveen pitting faithful against faithful. It was a war that could have no winner, but many, many losers.
Known as the 200 year war, the destruction that was wrought by battle after battle was enough to reach every part of the lands that had once been known as the Empire of the Moon. Nothing was left untouched by the war-- Sylvan creatures, elves, dwarves... everything was drawn into the bloody rampage that swept like wildfire across the world. Although entire volumes of books are dedicated to the countless engagements and events of those two centuries, there are three world-changing events specifically that mark the 200 year war as the darkest time in the world's history.
The Year of the Eclipse was so named by historians because it was the year that the City States declared war on the followers of Tah'alia. By record, the 109th year of the Age of Sundering was the year in which Verlyn Hresh, High Priest of Bannihar condemned the elves as bringers of evil and heretics in opposition to the Moon Goddess. Despite the many attempts by the mediators of Zion to refute the declaration of heresy and nullify the witch hunt, the rest of the city states quickly rose to the call. Most historians theorize that the clergy of the respective divisions sought an end to Moon Follower killing Moon Follower-- warring against followers of the Sun Goddess was supposed to accomplish that. For a time, in fact, it did.
The holy war waged against the elves was at its harshest during the first ten years. Every last elven city was razed, every last elf executed. From that point the battles became more of a search-and-destroy mission for the various crusaders as they sought the complete and total destruction of the elven people. Only when the order was given to put the sylvan forests to the torch did any dissenting voice make itself known... those voices, however were few and far between, and went unheeded.
The 119th year of the Age of Sundering is marked as the Year of the Demon, and it was a difficult year for the City of the Shining Dawn. Having devoted a large number of their forces to hunting elves, Doen was left under-represented on the renewed battlefields with the other city states. The year began with the destruction of Havervale, one of the largest townships loyal to the Temple City and got worse as their forces were routed in not one, but three separate engagements on their northern front in battles with Myre, and their western front was pushed back all the way to Lupf, a town so completely destroyed by the war that not even ruins remain today.
It was a desperate time for the people of Doen and the city's generals, try as they might, were unable to turn the tide of battle. It was due in part to this desperation that certain fringe elements within the city turned their eyes to a source of power beyond that of their Goddess and sought to use blasphemous magic that hadn't been seen since before the golden age. The magic, gleaned from captured elven tomes and was tapped and utilized to seek a power more ancient than the cities themselves, and it did just that; it opened a gateway to the demonic prison and brought forth a being of indescribable darkness.
At first, the cultists appeared to have secured the salvation of Doen. The demonic entity gladly waged war on the city's foes, decimating entire battalions of the invading armies. The heroes of Myre were rag-dolls to the otherworldly creature and the most powerful Thaumaturgy from Myrh could easily have been a gentle breeze for how useless it was against the ageless entity. Doen's safety ensured, the people were ready to celebrate, until they realized that, with its duty complete, the demon was not simply willing to go away. Despite their attempts to control it, the cult of unbelievers did not survive the demon that was unleashed upon the world.
Having planned to turn the tables on their aggressors, the clergy of Doen was instead forced to turn its entire military might inward. The demon was not willing to give up its grip on the world and proceeded to lay waste to every last piece of the city. Unlike the rest of the battles in which it fought, however, the demon was on holy ground and, despite great damage to the city and huge numbers of casualties, the people of Doen prevailed, and the threat of the demon was eliminated. It took a decade to recover, and almost twice that to track down the last of the dark manuscripts carefully hidden by the demonic cult. Just as the remnants of one cult was destroyed, however, a new holy war was in the making.
As predicted a decade prior by High Priest Verlyn, the sun followers struck back for the decade of persecution. Broken and disorganized, the elven folk called upon their allies in the forest and among the cultists that worshiped Tah'alia. Unable to stand against the might of the Moon Followers in warfare, they instead struck with the full magical might of their bloodlines and leveled a powerful curse upon the world. The land, berift of the blessings of the Sun Goddes and cut off from the protection of the Moon Goddess slowly spiraled downward into something... dark. Under the effect of the elven curse the land became wild... dangerous... foreboding.
Horrific things hunted the shadowy world beyond the city walls-- they were the stuff of nightmares, for truly it was as if the land had been abandoned.. and the Moon Goddess rarely shone through the dark clouds. Despite this change to the world, the faithful continued to seek out the elves, unwavering in their dedication to do the will of their temples. They were spurred on by the knowledge that the curse would be lifted when every last elven heart stopped-- after that time the elves were seen as the defilers of the world, and if there had been any sense of mercy before, it was quickly wiped clean. This, of course, only made things worse for the dwarves.
In the 131st year of the Age of Sundering, representatives from Myre discovered that the dwarven kingdom of Karod'Hass was supplying arms and armor to the elves. while the dwarves saw it as a business transaction and a way to honor their decades-old trade agreement with the fair folk, there was no gray area for the people of Myre, who saw the truth in black and white: the dwarves had turned their back on the Moon Mother and sided with the heathens. There was only one punishment suitable for heathens.
Sending a declaration of war on the dwarves to Zion and not waiting for a response, Myre dealt swift and brutal justice to the dwarves in the form of a powerful alchemical weapon known as Death Mist. Over the course of forty eight hours every last dwarf in the dwarven kingdom was dead; the war was over before the priests at Zion knew it had even begun, and the people of Myre moved into the abandon halls. As the only kingdom of dwarves to walk the surface, Karod'Hass was the only connection for the dwarves to the lands above. Sealing off the lower tunnels, the priests of Myre vowed to imprison the dwarves anew in their stony tomb, never again to defile the lands with their heresy.
In the 166th year of the Age of Sundering the war with the elves was declared to be complete. The final member of the fair folk was taken from her hiding place by a Champion of Bannihar, a crusader by the name of Rukirk Thrush and put to the axe. With the culmination of the five decades of hunting, the people of the lands rejoined in the knowledge that those who placed the curse upon the lands had been brought to justice and that, given time, light would again prevail. Years passed, however, and there was no improvement-- of course, more than just the curse was to blame.
Two centuries of war had reduced the once great empire to ruins. While the five city states fought to bring their dogma to their 'unenlightened' brethren every other portion of the world suffered for it. The powerful priesthood in each city succeeded in maintaining order within the walls of their grand citadels but outside those walls the world blackened and died. It continued to wither, unfortunately, as no city was unwilling to give up its quest for dominance of its fellows. The war continued thusly with weary combatants doing the will of the unshaken clergy. Thankfully, tolerance, however tardy, came to the land. This was in no small part to the eternal attempts by the city of Zion to make peace.
-The Zion Accord-
Finally, approximately twenty years ago, the great City State of Zion finally succeeded in creating a fragile peace accord. Members of the clergy from each of the five city states met in the neutral ground of Zion and, with guidance and encouragement from Grand High Priest, members of all aspects of the faith, and the entire Da'aveen clan, the temples, at long last came to an arrangement. The war finally over, it was thought that the lands would once again be able to receive the favor of the Moon Goddess and, given time, the beauty and majesty of her creation would once again return.
Known as The Zion Accord, the agreement reached between the five city states acknowledged that they each worshiped Tah'aveen, the Moon Mother. While each held a different aspect in greater favor, the cities acknowledged that depriving Tah'aveen of followers would not serve her will. Every year on the anniversary of the peace accord, representatives from each of the five Temple Cities would travel to Zion to renew their pact for peace and swear fealty to the Moon Goddess in all her phases.
Each year that passed the lands became less inhospitable... less tainted... less maligned. It appeared that things were finally improving and happiness became a more common and less obscure concept. Peace, a hard-won commodity, was happily distributed far and wide throughout the surviving cities of the land. Each year the delegations left their home cities and met in Zion; each year the land began to renew; each year the peace remained.
-Current Events-
Second Moon, Year 220, Age of Sundering. The pilgrims were dispatched as they had been for the prior 20 year with the hopes and dreams of renewed peace. Each of the delegates were seen off by the respective populous of their City States, sent with all the well-wishing and prayers that could be mustered. By Third Moon, however, they had not returned and no word had been sent; no representative returned from their pilgrimage.
Third Moon, Year 220, Age of Sundering. With no information on the whereabouts of their delegates the Temple Cities have begun to suspect the worst. Without knowing for certain the various powers within each city advise a variety of responses ranging from runners sent to the other nations to mobilization of armies. Some advise magical means while others suggest turning to the divine... but each of the Cities ultimately come to the same conclusion... a new caravan must be dispatched... and soon.
Now, once again on the brink of war, each city sends a second group to Zion... what happens next will surely shape the fate of the lands for centuries to come.